Dream Smashers – Azura

This guest article was written by Jamesser445. If you wish to contact him you can find him on Smashboards under the same username or at the Virtual Dojo, his own moveset creation thread.

I know what you’re probably thinking. Really, a Fire Emblem character, didn’t we get enough of them in Smash for already? And one from the same game as Corrin no less. But, before his official reveal, several fan polls (including Source Gaming’s individual character polls) saw his placement often tied with the other main character of Fates, Azura. Today I’d like to go over a potential moveset for Azura and to hopefully answer one question. What if Azura was picked to represent Fire Emblem Fates, in Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS.

Who is Azura?

Azura is the deuteragonist of Fire Emblem Fates. Corrin meets her early in the game and discovers her origins as a Nohrian princess kidnapped by Hoshido in retaliation of Corrin’s kidnapping. She believes Corrin will find the path to peace and follows him/her lending her talents to the cause.

To say anymore would give away major spoilers for Fates.

History & Importance to her series/Nintendo.

Azura represents the following…

Fates. While one could say Corrin represents the game currently, I believe he primarily represents himself. What I mean is that all moves and animations are based on his unique ability of Dragon Fang, which allows him to transform parts of his body or his entire being into that of a dragon. Fates is currently the only game in the series to grant certain units the unique ability of Dragon Vein. Dragon Vein allows it’s users to manipulate environmental elements to aid their arm. Examples include burning or freezing bodies of water so that units can cross through, wind storms to disorient flying units, and creating a bridge out of rocks. Corrin does NOT incorporate this ability in his Smash move set. Azura being a Nohrian princess is able to utilize Dragon Veins. For my move set she uses them as a secondary action for her specials, I’ll elaborate more on that below when we get to her specials.

Lance. As of now, the current roster of Smash Bros features no spear fighters. There are several sword wielders but no lance fighters. Azura fills that niche while also representing spear fighters from Fire Emblem.

Dancer. While technically her class is that of Songstress, Azura is more or less a dancer. Dancers are categorized as support units that invigorate units for extended actions. Dancer’s themselves are categorized as fragile speedsters capable of dodging most attacks but suffering fatal wounds when caught. Azura would also be the first dancer since Blazing Sword’s Ninian to play a major role in the game’s story.

In terms of importance to Nintendo I already mentioned that she was the other protagonist of Fire Emblem Fates, which is Nintendo’s most recent Fire Emblem title so relevancy is playing a big role here.

How Will She Play?

(From left to right; Default, Tethys, Sylvia, Leanne, Ninian, Feena, Olivia, Nohr)

Azura’s colors are based on various dancers from across the series, the exception is her final color which is based off her Nohrian dress from Conquest complete with veil. Now before I jump into the main part of how she plays here are some statistics:

• Can they crawl: No
• Can they wall jump: No
• How many jumps do they have: 2
• Is there any exclusive abilities they have*: Unarmed Combat
• Weight Class: 2/5
• Height Class: B
• Speed Class: A
• Are they mirrored when they face left: No

Dancers are primarily support units. With very few exceptions, they can’t even fight. So sending them too deep into enemy lines usually means a dead dancer. They boast very low defence and resistance only surviving thanks to their high speed. Proper use of dancers adds a layer of strategy by refreshing a unit, enabling a second action. This can either further offences or rally defences. Azura is the only dancer that wields a lance, giving her access to ranged weapons like Javelins. But perhaps Azura’s greatest weapon is her necklace. In conjunction with her song, the necklace is able to pacify raging dragons, as well as entire armies. She can also weaken and exorcise foreign spirits. Finally the necklace gives Azura the ability to water bend. Azura also has the ability of Dragon Vein, an ability that manipulates the environment to suit the user’s needs.

To translate all of that into Smash is fairly simple. Azura is a lightweight, she’s launched easily and her overall recovery is limited to say the least. However, she’s by no means weak, she’s also very fast. That combined with the range of her lance makes her a formidable fighter on her own. She’s capable of using her water bending abilities to grab and throw enemies as well as push opponents away with her down special. Then there’s her Dragon Vein that allows a secondary action for her specials (for example, pressing B while using a neutral special), such as a gust of wind for recovery or a barrier that keeps enemies away while she sings. On that note, she can sing to give herself a boost in between skirmishes. All in all Azura would be a fighter that gets in for quick skirmishes and retreats before taking significant damage.

Kirby will wear Azura’s coif.

Action	Description
Entrance	She falls gracefully from the sky
Stance	Taken her battle stance from Fates
Idle	Azura stand similarly to her victory 1 stance.
Walking	Azura carefully walks forward, trying to remaing in her stance,
Running	Taken From Fates
Jump	Azura’s jump is similar to Palutena’s standard jump.
Falling/ Damage	More or less taken from Fates
Jab	Her jab starts with a horizontal slash in front, then follows up with a rising slash, concludes her jab combo with an overhead slash
F Tilt	Azura takes a step forward and delivers a spinning slash. Maybe the player can control the distance she travels?
U Tilt	Taken from Master of Arms, Azura quickly slashes upwards, attacking those in front and above her.
D Tilt	Taken from Great Masters, Azura quickly slash diagonally down while crouched.
Dash	Azura performs a Ballerina’s Jete while delivering a diagonal cut. Launches foes above her.
F Smash	Azura spins once before dropping her lance for a powerful downward slash.
U Smash	Taken from Spear Masters Critical, Azura launches foes in front of her with a powerful rising slash.
D Smash	Very loosely based off the Master of Arm’s critical animation of a horizontal slash but on both sides.
N Air	Based on a Basara’s animation, Azura spins in the air once striking anyone close to her.
F Air	Based off a Spear Master animation, Azura brings her spear down for a possible Meteor Smash. Otherwise it could still be an effective combo tool.
B Air	Based off a Spear Fighter’s jump in, Azura turns around to deliver a wide horizontal cut.
D Air	Based off the Great Lord’ jump in attack, Azura delivers a wide downwards slash.
U Air	Based off the Sky Knight’s finisher, Azura delivers a rising slash.
Grab	Azura creates a circle of water directly in front of her to ensnare anyone in front of her. It has good range but less range than a tether grab. Her throws would see her using the water to push and pull her victim away.
Pummel	Her pummel would see her “purify” her opponent using the water circle but it would be rather slow similar to Robin’s pummel.
F Throw	Azura simply stabs forwards
B Throw	Based off the Spear Fighter finisher, Azura takes a step and strikes her opponent behind her.
D Throw	Loosely based off the Spear Master finisher, Azura raises her lance and brings it down in a downward slash.
U Throw	Based off the Great Master finisher, Azura backflips while slashing launching her opponent upwards.
Neutral Special	Inspiring Song- Azura begins singing a high note for a full 3 seconds. If completed Azura will heal a small amount of percentage (10 % of current percentage ex 90 % will heal as 81%). In team battles allies close to Azura can heal as well but it will be divided between them and Azura. Repeated uses will lower the effects of Inspiring Song as well (Think Witch Time and how repeated uses stops time for less seconds each time it’s repeated).
Neutral Dragon Vein	Dragon Vein creates a barrier around Azura that bursts keeping foes away. Naturally this interrupts the song and prevents Azura from receiving the benefits of the song.
Custom 1	The first custom for this move will see Azura and team get a buff to their overall stats for a temporary amount of time. Similar to the effects of Wii Fit Trainers down-special.
Custom 2	The second custom for this move will require double the amount of singing time from Azura but in exchange she gets both a buff and heal, although not to the same percentages as if doing one.
Side Special	Javelin- Azura throws her lance a set distance. A projectile that’s capable of earning knock outs at high percentages. Can also be used in edge game as a sniping tool. But this leaves Azura completely unarmed with only water bending to defend for herself. Azura can reclaim her lance if she touches it. If it falls off the stage it will eventually respawn in her arms. Should Azura fall while unarmed, she will respawn with a new lance. On side effect of this move is that it can leave her temporarily unarmed. More of a handicap than an ability, Azura can lose her lance forcing her to fight bare handed with only her water bending. She loses almost all of her damage output and her range.
Side Dragon Vein	Dragon Vein creates a shockwave where the lance is planted. The lance will be launched into the air and drops where Azura called the Dragon Vein regardless of whether or not Azura is still there. The earthquake can launch any foes standing by the spear.
Custom 1	For Azura’s first custom she can now throw her lance at a much greater distance however it does less damage overall.
Custom 2	For Azura’s second custom she will throw the lance more skyward and in an arc, similar to the arc Sheik and Zero Suit Samus jump in with their down specials.
Down Special	Azura charges water in a stance, When fully charged, she will stab forwards damaging enemies while pushing foes away with water. This only has one level of charge but if Azura rolls out, shields, etc then she can save that charge.
Down Dragon Vein	Dragon Vein can be activated during the charging phase.  Azura will twirl once with the water she charged, pulling her enemies in. She then raises her lance towards the sky freezing the water into a pillar of ice that freezes and launches her opponents.
Custom 1	Azura’s customs for this move actually change how her Dragon Vein works instead. Instead of pulling people in with her spin, the spin will cause a wave of ice around her that’s size is proportional to how long she was charging the attack.
	The second custom will bring people in with her spin but instead of a damaging ice attack it is a blast of water. The water has the same effect as Mario’s F.L.U.D.D. and her normal down special but knocks people skywards instead.
Up Special	Pole Vault- Azura uses her spear as a pole to jump like an Olympian. It doesn’t put Azura into a special fall allowing her one air action. It isn’t very effective for horizontal recovery in the air.
Up Dragon Vein	Dragon Vein summons a gust of wind that launches Azura horizontally and then into special fall.
Custom 1	Again, this custom will effect the Dragon Vein and not the standard attack. The first has the wind spin Azura as she rises. She won’t travel as far horizontally but can damage opponents on any side.
Custom 2	This custom will have the wind push Azura into another Pole Vault. This means she will travel in the same arched angle that she normally does however she does not get the additional attack.

Her Final Smash is a mid-game spoiler. You have been warned.

Final Smash: Dark Song

Based on the Opera scene. Azura sets her lance down and begins to sing and dance for about a minute. Each motion of her arms and legs leaves behind a trail of water that grows as the song goes on. The water deals damage to those caught in her field of influence, represented by airborne drops of glowing water. With the final motions creating giant rings of water that push enemies off stage, with those at higher percentages being launched farther than others.

Up Taunt	She spins her lance and strikes a pose similar to her official art, “Time for your final bow”
Side Taunt	Stands tall like in her Portrait and says, “Look me in the eyes”
Down Taunt	Does her battle entrance animation and says “Let us begin”
Victory 1	Victory animation from Fates “I had no choice”
Victory 2	Spins once and flicks her hair (Map sprite dance) “My heart is singing”
Victory 3	Dances similar to Fates opening

As for Azura’s victory theme, she keeps the standard Fire Emblem fanfare used by Corrin.

And that is how Azura could play in Super Smash Bros. Keep in mind that she will probably never see playable status in Smash Bros. But I hope this gives a good indication of what we could’ve seen on December 15th, if Azura chose to dance on the battlefield.

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Joshua 'NantenJex' Goldie

A historian and avid gamer, NantenJex is the Editor-in-Chief for Source Gaming, overseeing videos and reviews for the site. He has a passion for obscure gaming so any article you see on uncommon titles like Nazo no Murusame Jo, Yuyuki and Marvelous, to name a few, are most likely from him. He also likes game design leading to the creation of Dream Smashers, a series on potential newcomers for Super Smash Bros. He wants you all to know that Yoshi is objectively the best Nintendo character.

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